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Crossroads (Julian and Cornelia)

His hazel hues never left the stack of papers piling on one another on the mahogany desk. The more he stared at it, the more frustrating it got for him. Julian wasn’t sure if it was just his workaholic state buffering for a brief while since he was contemplating whether or not he should resume his paperwork. Ever since he recently settled in Evermore, the nephilim hasn’t had the chance to properly introduce himself to the ambassador of the city, who is tasked with the moderation of the angel children residing in the supernatural populated city. Surprisingly enough, the span of 5 months in the city went unnoticed to Julian, who focused solely on his transfer to Colorado’s base. There was really no telling when he'd finally have some spare time for himself. His gaze was unwavering when he ran his fingers through his raven locks, letting out a distressed sigh along the way.

For the past week, he's been burdened with discussing about the internal components for the fighter jets that were supposed to be ready for export at the end of January. Unfortunately, the wiring system was not planning to be lenient and generous in any way, so the team had to reconstruct it. Well, he does, since he was the one overseeing the whole procedure as junior officer. Things could never get easy for him, can it? It didn't help when the shipment for the imported components that were supposed to arrive in Colorado from Fukuoka, did not arrive intact. The boxes were mangled up and the content inside? Really, no words could be described. Julian's strict and uptight persona handled it professionally but it didn't mean he wasn't close to choking every single one in the team for messing things up, especially when getting the contract across the globe to obtain the components for the US military wasn't nearly as easy as it was said to be.

Glancing over to the clock against the wall, he knew he had to be at the base in less than an hour or he's going to get an earful from his supervisor. Don't get him wrong, his superior is not cruel or stoic, but rather an impervious perfectionist, much like him. Nothing could get pass him. Not a flaw. Or you'll be handing over your resignation letter soon enough. Everyone knew that, and Julian didn't need any reprimanding this week, he's had just about enough of it. The dark haired male sorted out the documents neatly on the table, pushing them into their own respective files before grabbing his jacket and car keys with him as he made his way to the garage. The nephilim tossed his bag at the passenger's seat and started his engine. Speeding off from his residency compound, he drove to his workplace, the airspace base for Colorado's construction site. It wasn't really known to the general public, only those who actually had access to the place for working purposes. It remained inactive to the public eyes but not to the small number of them operating from inside.

As soon as he arrived, he greeted the security guards and eyed the commotion at the west hangar. Parking his car at the parking spot offered, he tilted his head slightly to the left as he wondered what the ruckus was all about. It's never been this noisy at his workplace before. Everyone tends to work quietly in their own space, and only found the time to chat at the lounge during break time or when their shifts ended. Deciding not to waste anymore time, Julian slung the bag on his left shoulder and make his way to the west hangar, where a large crowd was seen to be circling around. “What's the commotion all about, gentlemen.” he questioned and some of them felt reluctant to even let him pass by. He gave them a look of unamusement before they shortly formed a path so he could peek in. This was not what he expected to find, obviously. Not so early in the morning. Not when he's already had plenty on his pile.

“The hell happened here.” he grumbled and pushed his bag aside as he crouched down to the male's body level. While inspecting the unconscious male, he whirled around and asked for his friend, who's also a junior assistant. “Did you already call the ECPD?” All he got was a nod for a response. This isn't good, driving the attention of the public with the ECPD was going to be hard to shake off. Well, they are somewhat funded by a private sector on this part, so evading from government officials and authorities were basically a must. He can't believe there has been a murder committed in their own base.

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NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Cornelia Hael Bradford on February 16, 2019 at 21:23

Her breathing was heavy as Cornelia jogged along the sidewalk, a pair of earphones plugged in as her footsteps echoed against the pavement, brushing past the barely awake population of Evermore. While her legs did all the work, her mind was preparing the speech she had to give at one of the Nephilim events later that day. There was a time when Cornelia loved public speaking, she was moulded to be the perfect public figure, but now she despised it. The very thought of drawing attention to herself made her skin crawl.

However, there was no way out of this. As the Ambassador and the chief guest at the event, she had been specially requested to share a few words of inspiration with the attendants. She was halfway through her speech in her mind when her phone buzzed in her sidebag. Coming to a halt, the female bent over, placing her palms on her knees as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself before answering the call, being immediately greeted by the Captain of her precinct on the other end.

"Sir, you force me to take holidays and the time I really need a day off you call me at," She looked down at the watch wrapped around her wrist, "At 7 am." Shaking her head, she waited for her superior to tell her what was wrong. Apparently a supernatural creature had gone rogue and killed another in a rather deserted part of town. "You want me to cover up a murder?" She asked, almost shocked that she, out of all people, was being asked to do this. That was when the captain told her that both the people involved were friends and had a reputation of being good and that security footage showed that it was like a switch turned off and the two were at each other's throat. The Captain suspected there was more to this and the humans didn't need their attention to be brought to it if a third supernatural force was involved.

Sighing, Cornelia nodded her head as the Captain further informed that the murderer had already surrendered by himself, saying that it was like he was being controlled. "I'll handle it." The detective muttered before disconnecting the call.

An hour and a change of clothes later the female had arrived at the crime scene, parking her car just outside as she walked the rest of the way in. A crowd had already formed around the body as Cornelia realised it was going to be hard to keep this away from the humans. "Excuse me." She pushed her way through the small gathering of people, flashing her badge at them before she finally came face to face with a body and a familiar figure hovering over it.

It took her a minute to realise who it was, tilting her head slightly, "Julian?" She called out, almost surprised, "What are you doing here?" Her gaze then shifted to the bag he was carrying, a few papers hanging out from it, "Do you work....here?" For a brief second, her work was out of her mind, after seeing her past suddenly knock at her door. It was weird to say the least and she didn't know how to respond, or if he even remembered her.

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Julian Nathaniel Lockhart on February 17, 2019 at 22:50

When he came to work today, he expected a few complaints here and there maybe, since their operation on the jets were delayed due to the components not arriving precisely at the estimated time given. But he did not expect this. This is a murder scene. In no way was it a suicide accident, especially from the wounds on the victim. Julian wasn't that cold and insensitive not to know that the victim is under his department and was his responsibility. He wasn't going to say this is a burden because that's just cruel. But, this indeed was a stent in today's progress. Not because they've lost one man power, but because today of all days, was gonna that one day where his superior comes down to see how things are going.

It didn't take the ECPD long to get to the crime scene. Julian was just inspecting the way his junior died, until he saw the commotion disrupted, which could only mean that help has arrived. What he did not expect to see other than this dead body at his workplace was someone from the past. Dear lord… was he seeing right? Is that actually who he thought it was? Out of all people he could've met, it was a close friend of his back in his boarding school days. Damn. Cornelia Bradford, who knew she would be one of those familiar faces he thought he'd be able to meet in Evermore. Did he recognize her? No doubt. Did he remember her? Or course. Cornelia wasn't someone he would forget easily.

Julian didn't have a wide network of friends even before, and those he actually had, he kept in close distance. The female detective standing before him today, was one of them. “Cor..” he trailed, not noticing how he still used the nickname instead of her full name. When she asked if he worked there, he nodded in response. “Yeah.. I work here.” he answered, and soon cleared his throat a few times before requesting for the others to disperse their crowds and get back to work. “Alright guys, back to work. Sergeant's gonna come down soon, so make sure there's no mistakes being done today. We can't afford that.” His voice was loud and clear. Not long after, they separated themselves and resumed their work. He put on his work jacket that had military print on it with his initials sowed to it.

Julian Lockhart.

Aerospace Engineering Junior Officer.

Shoulder insignia that showed his rank as flight lieutenant.

The male nephilim stared at the female and decided to close the hangar so he could provide her with more privacy. It's the least he could do, to ease her work and make it a tad easier. Pushing the button the closes the door in front, he crossed his arms and glanced over to his old friend. “Kevan wasn't supposed to do his extra shift yesterday. He was supposed to end at 6 but the manual record book says he decided to finish things up and stayed for a couple of extra hours.” It was upsetting to see a young kid suffering such a fate. Especially at his own workplace, the place where he was sure became the only place he was comfortable at. Whilst he wanted to speak more about his junior considering any statements would be from him since he was the supervisor in charge, Julian wanted to know how she came to Evermore. He was sure she wasn't born there, no. “When did you come here, Cor.”

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Cornelia Hael Bradford on March 19, 2019 at 13:51

Cornelia hadn't seen Julian in well over a decade. After her mother's death, the only thing she held on to was Josh and when he died, the female stripped off her old life and started a new chapter in Evermore. She did miss her friends, however. Especially Julian considering how close they were, but she could never bring herself to face him after how she had cut all of them out of her life.

Snapping back into reality, the female looked around as the crowd dispersed, her gaze eying the walls of the hanger for CCTV footage. If she had to cover up this murder then that was the first thing she needed to do. "Do those work?" She asked, pointing to a set of cameras anchored from the corners of the walls. "I think I'll need to see that." She stepped away from the body as the CSI took over before returning her gaze to the male.

"Is him staying back unusual?" The female asked, pushing her jacket back as she placed her hands on her hips, examining the scene. She wasn't sure how else to respond to this situation. She didn't know what feelings Julian harbored for her, if anything he probably hated her for discarding them like they meant nothing, and she didn't know how to convey the fact that, that wasn't the case.

His question caught him by surprise. Running her fingers through her mocha locks, she rolled her shoulders back, "Five years, give or take." She nodded her head before parting her lips slightly, debating on whether she should say the next few words. "I'm sorry I never called." The words came out quick, wanting nothing more than to clear the air, she then eyed his jacket and in a desperate attempt to be nostalgic, she chuckled, "Didn't think Engineering was something you'd get into."

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Julian Nathaniel Lockhart on March 27, 2019 at 9:22

Julian wasn't sure if he was supposed to be angry or happy that he was finally reunited with her after a decade. It was mixed, yeah that's it. His gaze was never averted from the female, even when closed the hangar's entrance door, he snuck a few glances here and there. Was she happy to see him? Because in all honesty, he wasn't sure if he should act that happily around her when he wasn't sure if she was the same. Usually, Julian is not a bitter guy, he's the opposite. Sometimes his level of snark and saltiness does outperform himself at times, but as far as he was concerned, he's still well-mannered.

Turning to face her with his back leaned against the counter, he crossed his arms and nodded at her question. “We always had backup generators working automatically whenever there was any power outage, so the cameras work 24/7 without a miss.” he quirked his eyebrows in questioning manner, trying to see what's the correlation to this. Perhaps she was trying to check it to see if there was any chance to spot the perpetrator. But something tells him that's not just it. Be it paranoia or his instincts, the angel child always made sure to quench the curiosity building inside him rather than to leave it be. “He's a diligent kid, always staying back at least once a week to finish up the counter ideas. But he's not the technical staff, so he shouldn't even be working on any parts that would be harmful. He's a planner, which means his work is strictly behind those doors, in the office” he pointed at the glass windows not far from where they stood.

Finding out that she's been here for five years, he only hummed in response. Truly, he wasn't sure what to say. The apology was unexpected, but he accepted it nonetheless, despite being taken aback by it for a brief while. “Don't sweat it, it's my fault for not reaching out too. I tried, a few years later obviously, but heard your number changed and the sorts. Guess I just thought my presence wouldn't change anything.” He tucked both hands inside his jacket pocket and shrugged. She's not the only one that left, she's the first but not the only one, so in a way, Julian built himself around it. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt though. “Yeah.. My family thought I'd be a lawyer, and I actually considered to take them but decided it's not for me. I like creating things and creating cases worth a headache in martial court is not what I have in mind so, here I am” he chuckled, finding the irony in it too.

Pursing his lips lightly, he eyed the CSI team and her before tapping his fingers against the wood. “Follow me.” He beckoned for her to follow him as he opened the door to get out of the hangar and head to the control room. Knocking softly on the door, he waited for a few moments until someone from the other side asked him who it was. “Yeah Dave, it's me, Julian.” Soon after, the door was opened and they were greeted with a middle aged blond. “I'll need access to those videos.. Detective here asked for it. Do you mind leaving us for a while?” he asked, his tone leveled and worded politely. Closing the door behind them, he took a seat on one of the chairs. Okay, maybe he's not trusting, but can you blame him? Anyone can be a potential suspect here since to gain access inside the base meant they needed any of their key cards.

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Cornelia Hael Bradford on May 29, 2019 at 17:47

Thankfully there wasn't a lot of awkwardness, though the tension lay thick on them both. She knew cutting off her friends 10 years ago was probably the worst decision ever but a part of her knew now it worked out in her favour because they were alive and well and not captives of Abraxas's revenge scheme. She was certain she had hurt Julian, especially after how close the two were. They were almost inseparable in school and had gone through so much together that Cornelia owed him an apology and an explanation but she wasn't sure where to start. I'm sorry that my mother died and I got scared and pushed everyone away? That didn't seem to quite make the cut.

Cutting her attention back to the task at hand, Cornelia folded her arms across her chest and listened to the male talk about it. "That's good." She nodded, if she had to cover this up she had to at least pretend to be doing some work to avoid suspicions. "So there's a chance we might find our guy on those cameras?" She asked rhetorically before listening to the male talk about the victim, "So it's odd that he was out there?" She asked, referring to the crime scene that was just outside. "Did he have arguments with anyone recently? Or showed some odd behaviour?" She carefully framed thee question to kill two birds with one stone, show him that she was doing her job while also trying to figure out what the mental switch the Captain was talking about was.

However as soon as the apology fell off her lips Cornelia winced a little, knowing she could've handled the situation much more gracefully than simply blurting out that she was sorry. "No, really." She insisted and taking a deep breath she took a step forward in his direction, "I know I was a complete ass for cutting you guys off. And after everything we had been through together, you deserved better." She started, easing her shoulders back a little, "Losing my mom was really hard and after Josh....I just didn't know how to reach out. And frankly, I was scared." Cornelia confessed, laying out the truth for her once best friend, "I'm really sorry." With a soft chuckle the female then added to ease the tension, "But I guess now that we're in the same city it pretty much proves I can't get rid of you easily."

Nodding her head, Cornelia spoke up once again as she followed him down to the control room, "You did always help me with my science fair projects so I guess it was a good decision." She smiled before heading inside the room. She watched as the man walked out to give them the space and turned to the various screens, her gaze locking on the big monitor where it showed the live feed of the hangar. The perpetrator was already in ECPD's custody so what she really needed was evidence that she needed to remove from the public eye. "So we're looking for somewhere between 11pm to 3am." Instructing Julian, she ran her fingers through her hair and waited for the footage to be brought up.

NephilimPermalink Reply by ✓ Julian Nathaniel Lockhart on July 22, 2019 at 18:14

He will admit that this all was very foreign to him. He’s usually a very closed off and quiet guy, even since a child, which was mainly thanks to his boarding school etiquettes and his upbringing in the upper side of his country. Julian kept to himself, so much that his introverted self came across strict and stoic as well as uptight. Whilst all of those might even be true, it didn’t necessarily mean he couldn’t venture out of his own comfort zone. He wasn’t invincible to all of that, in fact, if anything, the Nephilim was a lot more prone to it than anyone thought. His entire life was influenced heavily from all sides, up from the time he met Cora during his deployment in the military a few years ago. Still associated with the military despite it not being his main base to go to, Julian made sure to keep every discipline of him up to date.

The friendship they had 10 years ago was supposed to be long-lasting. At least, that’s what he told himself but no, after a few years, they were cut off. Just. Like. That. As if there was nothing at all, to begin with. Julian was hurt that Cor never came back, he wasn’t sure what to make of it when he found out she changed her phone number and that she was no longer in England. It was like she disappeared, but not quite. The angel child wanted to seek her out but decided against it because it would be him respecting her choices, and so he abandoned every reason to find her again with a thought in mind, that perhaps, one day, he will find her again. Julian has been a busy guy for the past few years, serving his time in the military itself for the most part of his career, working as an aerospace engineering junior officer that literally work on the components around. If only he was able to screw the bolt on his own body components, that would've been helpful for the Nephilim. With her around, he wasn’t sure what way he should be acting.

“Yes, there’s a high chance we might be able to find the culprit on the cameras.” This was extremely suspicious but once again, he downplayed his curiosity by using the ‘paranoia’ card. You’re just being paranoid and overthinking this, Julian, he told himself. Nodding in affirmation to her question, it was odd to find the kid anywhere out of his office. He never liked working on the jets personally anyway, so why would he be out there? “Arguments? No… not that I know it. Kevan’s a good kid. He keeps to himself, he’s a quiet lad.” There was no way he picked a fight with anyone. Unless he was the one being victimized in this case, which may come closer to a conclusion to why he never came to anyone to complain since he didn’t wish to burden anyone else. “Other than he took a week off close to a month ago? No, nothing out of the ordinary. But now that you said it, it’s a bit weird because he’s never missed a day of work. Kid comes in before 8 and checks in, goes home when the clock strikes 6. Only came by the weekends to finish some paperwork when he needed to stay back. I assumed he took the week off due to personal issues, family stuff or whatnot.”

A small smile adorned his lips when the female detective apologized for cutting him out and leaving him by the dust, hearing that from her sure did give him some assurance that it wasn’t done on purpose. “I get it, Cor… reaching out, it’s a tricky thing. Beats your ego and if there’s anything I know about you, yours is hard to beat,” he winked playfully before chuckling at the irony of things. Here they were, reunited once again. “Yeah, don’t bet on it. I’m gonna stay like a thorn by your side, Detective.” Settling in the seat and craning his neck to the side slightly, he stretched out his limbs and got down to work, hands steady on the keyboards and controls while his hazel hues wander wildly on the monitors. “Right, 11 pm to 3 am…” After a while of rewinding, he came across the exact time slot and clicked play. “I hope you get this guy… whoever he is. It’s going to be hard to break down the news to his sister, she’s all he had. Orphaned at 11, what’s left is a 14-year-old sister.”